I'm not a .40 fan and don't think many people are. I'm judging this from what I saw during the gun and ammo rush of 2008 to 2010. Five days a week I was in gun shops and Wal-Mart’s almost 2-3 a day. When the rush started .380, 9mm and .45 were gone first. I almost always saw .40 sitting on the shelves. .40 did disappear, but it took a very long time through the ammo rush.

I did shoot a Baby Eagle in .40 that I liked. That’s most likely because it was a heavy pistol.

I noticed that as well, although I think part of that was the nearly 100 years of manufacturing guns in those calibers that preceeded the arrival of the .40. I once read an article in a gun magazine that claimed more .380's were made in the US than all other handgun calibers combined. This was many years ago and probably true because of all the inexpensive Bryco and Davis automatics produced at the time. It's also been stated that the equipment used to produce 9mm is also used for .380 so you can't do both at the same time to full pruduction capacity. This fit my observations because .45 seemed to remain available longer than 9mm and .380 on those same shelves.

_________________"Oh, bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered another round

During the ammo insanity of 2008-2010 I was guilty of shooting 9mm and .22LR instead of .40 due to the cost. Spending 30% less on ammo made a difference if how much I afford to shoot. The unfortunate consequence of this is that I now notice the increased recoil of the .40 over the 9mm, I never did before. I purchased a couple of cases of .40 recently to get my skills back to normal. I haven't been shooting much .44 mag or .357 mag the past couple of years either.

Ammo, 9mm especially, has come a long way since 1997 when I purchased my first Glock 23. I completely discounted 9mm as a weak cartridge back then. I remember turning down a G26 for $200 because it was 9mm. If I had only a couple guns in .40 I might consider getting out of it and just going with 9mm and 10mm (.45 ACP is not desirable to me), but I have over 10 of them (including a couple of gifts from my dad that I'll never part with) and am just too invested to switch.

First - not trying to enter a holy war - just giving my experience and opinion...

Never owned a .40... I've shot plenty of them (and .357 Sig...) but never liked them as much as the .45. First carry guns were 9mm - and after a bit more reading and discussion of wound ballistics I came to the conclusion that I wanted more. My G30 gives me 10 rounds of 45 (+ a couple of spare mags makes 30 on my person). I found the similar frame .40's (compared to my G30) to have a much "sharper" recoil - I enjoyed shooting them less, and I found second shot placement (or second shot target acquisition time) to suffer with that platform (generally - when comparing the G30 to the similar subcompact glocks in .40 or .357sig). I'm a pretty big fella - and not recoil shy - but after putting a bunch of rounds through paper trying to convince myself that a couple of extra rounds of .40 would be worth having - I just found that when I compared patterns I shot better patterns faster with the .45 - and I was not willing to give anything up in that space.

So - no need for anything smaller than the G30 - and if for some reason I do have that need, I'll take the SP101 .357 with Glassers in the house and either hot/light .38spl +P loads - or 125gr / mid-power .357 loads out in the woods.

Anyway - had to comment as I had never understood the .40's place in the market given their recoil tenancies in lighter guns and the availability of mid / high capacity compact .45s.

EDIT - oh yeah - had meant to mention - when I head out to shoot - I take a box of .45, and a ton of .22. The .45 gets used up practicing double tap patterning, and the .22 will move a can or plate, or punch paper just as well as the 9mm - and at 525 rounds for $20 - I can afford to plink a LOT more with the 22 revolver or semi than I would be able to afford with 9mm, 380, 38, or any of the less expensive "personal defense option" rounds.

SECOND EDIT - in a larger heavy carry gun I might not have the same issue with the harsher / sharper recoil - but then again if I were to look for a full sized open-carry pistol I'd look at the .10mm and other options as well.

_________________"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government." - Thomas Paine

I've never been a .40 fan. Theres nothing wrong with it, just not for me. For concealing I want as many rounds in as small a package as I can so 9mm it is. Open carry I want .45acp especially when my FNP45 can hold 14+1, just don't see the advantage of .40. I swear everyone I know is a .40 fan though.

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